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Non-human animal grazing creates greenhouse gases
Arguments #The average Australian eats beef each year which produces 1.45 tonnes of Greenhouse gases. If we did not graze cattle in Australia, we could easily exceed our Kyoto targets, with NO other actions required #Ruminant animals release 80 Million Tonnes of gas each year in belches and farts, while animal wasted in feedlots and farms emit another 35 Million Tonnes. Livestock account for 15-20% of Global Methane Emissions. #Sheep and Shorn Wool Sector of the Australian Economy produces 6Kg of CO2 emissions per $ of product #Beef Cattle Sector of the Australian Economy produces 26Kg of CO2 emissions per $ of product #The Meat Products sector of the Australian Economy produces a further 12Kg of CO2 per $ of product, and a huge total of 91Million Tonnes of CO2 emitted. #By Comparison, the Vegetable and Fruit growing sector of the Australian Economy produces only 1.4Kg of CO2 emissions per $ of product #The Animal Industries combined produce 140 Million Tonnes of CO2 each year. This is almost triple the 56 Million Tonnes produced by the Electricity Supply, Distribution and Transmission sector of the economy! #Gidon Ershel and Pamela Martin at the University of Chigago conducted a study to compare the energy consumption of animal- and plant-based diets, and, more broadly, the range of energetic planetary footprints spanned by reasonable dietary choices. They demonstrate that the greenhouse gas emissions of various diets varies by as much as the difference between owning an average sedan versus a Sport Utility Vehicle under typical driving conditions. Objections Nil References for the Arguments #ACF Green Home GuideThere is no doubt that reducing consumption of meat, especially red meat, is one of the most effective things the individual can do to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution. Producing meat turns vegetable protein very inefficiently into animal protein, using large amounts of energy and water in the process. Secondly, meat production takes place a long way from the main population centres, so large amounts of fuel energy are needed to transport meat to urban consumers. Thirdly, meat products need to be cooked to be safe to eat, generating more greenhouse gas pollution. Ruminant animals also produce large amounts of methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, in the process of digesting grass. So overall, meat production in general and beef production in particular is a serious contribution to greenhouse gas pollution and hence global warming. 'Professor Ian Lowe, School of Science, Griffith University, Nathan 4111, Australia' # Heretics Feast, pp332 # Balancing Act Report 2005 # Balancing Act Report 2005 # Balancing Act Report 2005 # Balancing Act Report 2005 # Balancing Act Report 2005 # Earth Interactions, Vol. 10, pp. 1-17, March 2006. Also discussed in New Scientist http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/newScientist.html ; The Guardian Newspaper http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/guardian.html ; and the Discovery Channel http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060424/veggies_pla.html # A report from EarthSave, "A new global warming strategy: How environmentalists are overlooking vegetarianism as the most effective tool against climate change in our lifetimes." http://www.earthsave.org/news/earthsave_global_warming_report.pdf # An article from The Aquarian, titled "Another Inconvenient Truth: In the modern world, it is impossible to reconcile a carnivorous diet with environmental responsibility." http://www.aquarianonline.com/Eco/anotherinconvenienttruth.htm # An article from E Magazine, titled "Another Inconvenient Truth: Meat is a global warming issue." http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3312 # This webpage from Northern Territories University (Australia) explains how our fellow animals produce methane: "Emission of methane from livestock." http://www.cs.ntu.edu.au/homepages/jmitroy/sid101/uncc/fs032.html # A webpage from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Where does methane come from." http://www.epa.gov/methane/sources.html References for the Objections Examples and Anecdotes